Sara Susana del Valle Trimarco de Veron, or Susana Trimarco (born 1954), is an Argentinian human rights activist, whose efforts to combat human trafficking and corruption have been recognized internationally. After the 2002 disappearance of her daughter, who is believed to have been kidnapped by a human trafficking network, she spent years searching for her daughter, and started a foundation to support victims of sex trafficking. Her lobbying is credited as bringing corruption and government

impunity Impunity is avoidance of punishment, loss, or other negative consequences for an action. In the international law of human rights, impunity is failure to bring perpetrators of human rights violations to justice and, as such, itself constitutes a d ...

to the fore in Argentina, a discussion which led to a 2011 law banning the advertisement of sexual services in newspapers and magazines.

Life

Susana Trimarco's daughter Marita (born María de los Ángeles) was kidnapped in

San Miguel de Tucumán San Miguel de Tucumán (; usually called simply Tucumán) is the capital and largest city of Tucumán Province, located in northern Argentina from Buenos Aires. It is the fifth-largest city of Argentina after Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Rosario an ...

, the capital of

Tucumán Province Tucumán () is the most densely populated, and the second-smallest by land area, of the provinces of Argentina. Located in the northwest of the country, the province has the capital of San Miguel de Tucumán, often shortened to Tucumán. Neigh ...

, on April 3, 2002. Marita was the mother of a two-year-old girl and had gone to a doctor appointment when, according to a witness, she was pulled into a red car. It is believed that she was forced into prostitution. Trying to find her, Trimarco began to visit brothels dressed as a prostitute. She received threats and was given false clues in order to mislead her search. Her investigations led to the release of other women supposedly deprived of their liberty, but her daughter is still missing. In 2007, Trimarco founded the ''Fundación María de los Ángeles'' ("María of the Angels Foundation") in order to rescue kidnapped girls in Argentina. It claims to have achieved the release of hundreds. In February and March 2012, Trimarco testified at the trial of 13 people, including police officers, who were accused of kidnapping Marita Veron and selling her to human traffickers. All the defendants were acquitted on December 12, 2012. In December 2012, seven men and six women were charged with Marita's kidnapping, but acquitted in a Tucuman criminal court. A week later, Trimarco met with Argentina's president, and impeachment proceedings were started against the 3 judges who had delivered the verdict. In December 2013, ten of the original 13 defendants were convicted of the kidnapping and sexual exploitation of Marita Verón.

Legacy and awards

Legislation

Trimarco's campaign has exposed the sex-trafficking industry and brought the issues of corruption of high officials and the impunity of the human trafficking networks into the public eye. As a result of her efforts, Argentina passed a law that makes the abduction and sexual exploitation of persons a federal offense in 2007. The law also established a Rescue Office to provide legal assistance to victims. In 2008, Trimarco's efforts led to Argentine legislation that prohibited human trafficking, and led to 3,000 people being rescued from human traffickers in Argentina. In 2011, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner enacted "Rubro 59", which bans the advertisement of sexual services in newspapers and magazines. For the first time, the Ministry of Security was able to uncover that police forces were implicated in trafficking rings. In 2008 an anti-trafficking law was passed, and a Rescue Office was established in the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights to oversee the prevention and investigation of human trafficking crimes and provide legal assistance to victims.

Awards

On March 8, 2007, the U.S. Department of State honored Susana Trimarco with the

International Women of Courage Award The International Women of Courage Award, also referred to as the U.S. Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award, is an American award presented annually by the United States Department of State to women around the world who have ...

, conferred by Secretary of State

Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist who is the current director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as the 66th Uni ...

. The official citation reads:

Ms. Susana Trimarco de Veron has faced danger and threats in her efforts to combat human trafficking and to find her daughter, who was kidnapped by traffickers. Desperate to find her missing daughter, Ms. Trimarco put herself in dangerous situations, disguised as a prostitute, trolling bars and alleys in search of anyone who might know her daughter's whereabouts. Despite false leads and death threats, she has uncovered evidence of trafficking networks operating in the Argentine provinces of La Rioja, Tucuman, Buenos Aires, Cordoba, and Santa Cruz. Thanks to Ms. Trimarco's work, human trafficking is now gaining public and government attention in Argentina, and victims are being encouraged to report the crime.

The Argentinian national senate also honored Susana Trimarco with the ''Premio Domingo Faustino Sarmiento'' for her work in promotion of human rights. On March 14, 2012, the Canadian government honored Ms. Trimarco with the John Diefenbaker Defender of Human Rights and Freedom Award. Trimarco was nominated for the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize.

Media

The

Telefé Telefe (acronym for Televisión Federal) is a television station located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The station is owned and operated by Paramount Global through Televisión Federal S.A. Telefe is also one of Argentina's six national television ...

series '' Vidas Robadas'' ("Stolen Lives") was inspired by this case. Susana Trimarco was also the subject of a 2009 documentary, ''Fragmentos de una Búsqueda'' (Fragments of a Search), directed by Pablo Milstein and Norberto Ludín. A season 16 episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, "Undercover Mother," was inspired by Susana's story.

References

External links

"Proponen a Trimarco para el Nobel de la Paz", ''Perfil'', 26 abril, 2012
obel Peace Prize proposal. {{DEFAULTSORT:Trimarco, Susana 1954 births Argentine human rights activists Women human rights activists Human trafficking in Argentina Living people People from Tucumán Province Place of birth missing (living people) Recipients of the International Women of Courage Award